

When she arrives at her new home, she's informed that the house is magical, and she's basically trapped as an assistant to the witch Bella Yaga ( Vanessa Marshall), who sells enchanted wares to unseen customers and commands Earwig not to bother the Mandrake ( Richard E. So she's one of the only orphans in pop culture history to complain about having to leave an orphanage. Earwig, dubbed Erica by the orphanage director, is known for getting everyone around her - including her best friend, Custard (Logan Hannan), and the facility's administrators - to do whatever she wants. Please, if you have watched this and can find some semblance of a coherent plot, I beg you to let me know.ĮARWIG AND THE WITCH - Studio Ghibli's first 3D-animated film - is an adaptation of author Diana Wynne Jones' final children's book about an orphan girl (voiced by Taylor Henderson) who's adopted by a mysterious duo who turn out to be a witch and a demon lord/sorcerer/warlock (it's not entirely clear). Is the witch supposed to be evil? Then why does Earwig have a picture of her on her mirror along with the people she loves? Does she like the witch? Hate her? Who really knows?ĭefinitely not me, or anybody who still has a couple of brain cells to rub together. Is the protagonist supposed to be good? Or an annoying brat? I have no idea who is the villain and who isn't. If I wanted to tell you the story line, I couldn't find the words - there is literally, but actually, no plot whatsoever.

#Earwig and the witch movie
The voice cast and animation were bearable, I guess, but I literally finished the movie and almost said aloud, "What on earth did I just watch?!" I get that it's been switched from its original Japanese to English, but that shouldn't affect the plot, if there had been one. I have never in my life watched a movie that made less sense than this one. I just watched this, and actually made a commonsensemeida account to review this movie. Language includes a few insults like "idiot" and "lazy." Earwig may not be instantly likeable - she's self-centered and boastful about how everyone does what she wants - but she's brave, and she rises to challenges and works to better her circumstances. Other unsettling moments include Earwig casting a spell that temporarily makes Bella sprout extra limbs from her face and side, a witch's hair magically turning into worms, and the Mandrake's demonic eyes growing huge and wild. There's also Bella the witch ( Vanessa Marshall), who threatens Earwig and keeps her trapped in a magical house. Grant), who can grow nine feet tall and walk through walls and is menacing. There are some potentially frightening moments, characters, and images, including a car chase, creepy potion ingredients, and the magical Mandrake ( Richard E. It includes several elements that are signatures for the studio: witches, magic, a precocious young girl (Earwig, voiced by Taylor Henderson), and a black cat. He is the first to come around to treating Earwig with kindness, as he has good intentions deep down.Parents need to know that Earwig and the Witch is based on the children's book by the late Diana Wynne Jones and is the first fully 3D/CGI-animated film from Japan's famous Studio Ghibli. Since he is so easy to anger, he often isolates himself and resents being disturbed. Mandrake is very easily upset and wields the greatest amount of power in the house. The sparks in his eyes are more powerful than ever, and the smoke comes from all over his body rather than just his back. His pants tear, and the rest of his outfit becomes colored orange and black. When he is angered, he grows in size, grows dark scales, and grows claws on his hands and feet. When upset, his eyes spark with anger, veins grown on his forehead, and a dark smoke comes from his back. He wears a purple robe and pants with a faint floral pattern on them, with a white button up underneath. His hair is short and brown, though during his time as a rock star, it was long and dark purple. Earwig initially mistakes them for horns. His ears are his most identifiable feature, as they are long and pointed.

The Mandrake is extremely tall (usually phasing through doorways and walls, but often crouching his head to enter when he doesn't) and lanky with thick circular glasses. He lives with Bella Yaga, but they do not seem to be more than just friends. After their disbanding, he becomes an author- however, his books are usually met with poor reviews. The Mandrake was the pianist of the band Earwig before it disbanded.
